Strategies Unit-5DB - Essay Example

Running Head: STRATEGIES UNIT-5DB Strategies Unit-5DB in APA Style by Strategies UNIT-5DB Question 1. The dot-com era saw the proliferation of many international internet retailers which capitalizes on the power of technology to capture and service a wide geographic region. The benefits of utilizing e-commerce in delivering products have been widely documented. Some people take for granted all the resources which are needed to come up with a virtual store relative to brick and mortars. An international internet retailer, just like any traditional retailer, needs to establish strategic partnerships with business organizations along its value chain.

A virtual retailer must find companies which will supply the necessary commodities that it sells online. Though inventories are significantly lower than that of traditional retailer, internet retailers also need to have its warehouse. Virtual retailers also need to forge partnerships with logistics companies in the delivery of their products. Online operation must also backed by support staffs which are committed in delivering a excellent customer service. In terms of physical resources, online retailers less resources than a brick and mortar which operates on an international level.

One virtual store is needed for an international internet retailer to serve all its global customers. A dot-com retailer also requires fewer inventories but it should be noted that companies must heavily invest in computer hardware and software to support processes. Financially, an online operation requires smaller cash outlay to finance physical resources and overhead. It should also be noted that e-commerce necessitates lower levels of working capital and telecommunication costs. In terms of human resource, an international internet retailer needs to deploy more employees who will man order taking and after-sales support.

However, the total number of an international internet retailer is significantly lower than its brick and mortar counterpart. Question 2. According to AC Nielsen, Google, Inc. is the market leader in search engines accounting for 54% of the total market share (Google 2006). Lagging behind are other large competitors like Yahoo and Microsoft. The phenomenal success of Google can be attributed to a lot of factors which include technology, business model innovation, and focus on the user experience.

In order to provide services to its huge number of customers, Google heavily invested in technology. It should be noted that the company is using "purpose built hardware" which is specifically tailored according to its needs (Hornik 2003). With this, Google operates the world's largest distributed computer system. Another key to Google's success is business model innovation. The company is seen to have perfected the nature of its targeted ads which produced better experienced for its users. It can be seen that this business model generates high levels of revenue for the company.

Lastly, Google is very much focused on creating a superior user experience. As a search engine, the company capitalizes on the simplicity of the service it provides. In contrast to the complicated process of retrieving information from different sites, all the items are displayed without no fancy graphics and pop-ups. In short, Google provides customers with what they really needed-nothing more, nothing less (Tischler 2005). References"Google." (2006). Retrieved 02 November 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoogleHornik, David. (2003). "Four Keys to Google's Success.

" Retrieved 02 November 2006, from http://ventureblog.com/articles/indiv/2003/000080.htmlTischler, Linda. (2005). "The Beauty of Simplicity." Retrieved 02 November 2006, from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/100/beauty-of-simplicity.html Turban, Efraim & David King. (2002). "Introduction to E-Commerce." Prentice Hall: New York